On 10th October, World Mental Health Day this year YPAS was visited by Charlie Craggs, an award-winning Trans activist, icon and ally to THE Action Youth. Charlie visited our group on World Mental Health day to share her journey from a young person struggling with her mental health to award-winning activist, novelist, campaigner and collaborator with some of the biggest brands in fashion and beauty in the UK.

Charlie has long been a champion of our work and our young people and we were blown away by her constant grounded humility and realness when with our group. Some of our young people were inspired to the point of (happy) tears! Her strength gives young Trans and gender diverse people strength and was a great way to spend World Mental Health day.

Angelica Vanasse, Acting Senior Education Manager at Walker Art Gallery who has worked closely on several projects with THE Action Youth said this ‘Being able to work closely with the team at YPAS and the young people in THE Action Youth (TAY) has been an amazing part of our engagement work here at the Walker Art Gallery and a highlight in our events programme. We were able to host a pop-up display of artwork, zines, placards and photographs created by TAY alongside Charlie’s Nail Transphobia pop-up, and the feedback from our visitors and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. Our engagement area was brought to life with these activities, and the information provided in such a meaningful way helped to share the experiences of the young people with a wide range of visitors. Their commitment to activism and raising awareness of the issues that young transgender people face has been inspirational and incredibly impactful!’